The dying man's testament to the Church of Scotland, or, A treatise concerning scandal…

and experience and reason make the thing clear, according to that of Paul, To the Jews I became as a Jew▪ and I became all things to all men, &c. which is not to show his counterfeiting, or his dallying in any necessary thing, but the squa•ing of his practice in lawful things according to the several cases of these he had to do with, which will be applicable both to persons and Churches.

and experience and reason make the thing clear, according to that of Paul, To the Iews I became as a Iew▪ and I became all things to all men, &c. which is not to show his counterfeiting, or his dallying in any necessary thing, but the squa•ing of his practice in lawfull things according to the several cases of these he had to do with, which will be applicable both to persons and Churches.

4. We would distinguish betwixt things, and persons, Sometimes it will be meet to censure a fault or error in persons, as Paul doth in the Corinthians and Galatians, and yet it not be fit to censure the persons; he doth indeed threaten these, but doth forbear▪ least thereby he should have hurt moe by a subsequent and following rent, than by his stroke he had cured. So also are persons to be distinguished, some whereof only err, but others teach others so; and in that respect are Heretics and Schismatics▪ which, had that been their own opinion only, could not have been imputed to them; these last cannot plead that forbearance that ought to be had towards the former. ⟨p. 207⟩Also distinction is to be made in the manner of forbearance; it is one thing to forbear simply and altogether one that is infected with error and spreadeth it, it is another thing to for bear, in some respect, to wit▪ of censure only, or it may be in respect of degree, something may be more gently censured, and yet not altogether forborne; and one may Ministerially reprove a fault and person by the key of Doctrine, in applying of it, when yet he may forbear the exercise of Discipline and Censure, as in the forecited place, Paul is reproving false teachers in Corinth, yet sparing the rod for a time; and so, wishing that some were cut off in Galatia, yet not doing it; and this is not so much respect to the persons of these teachers, as to the Church and to the multitude of their followers, whom hasty Censures might rather have stumbled than edified, which is the great end of that and of all other Ordinances: Therefore seeketh he first to recover them, and again, to bring them back to the acknowledgement of his authority, and thereupon to exercise the weapons that he had in readiness for the avenging all disobedience, when their obedience is made manifest